Failure tolerant high density dial router

ABSTRACT

A Fault Tolerant Dial Router (FTDR) includes redundant subsystem resources that operate independently of telephone line interface connections. The redundant resources are switched active when a failure is detected in an activated dial router subsystem. Switching out subsystem failures is fully automated under software control, providing uninterrupted service to users with limited performance loss. The FTDR includes a switching mechanism that selectively switches out the telephone interfaces or other subsystem resources inside the dial router box detected as having failures. The subsystem resources include line framers, controllers and modem modules.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates a high density dial router and more particularlyto a Fault Tolerant Dial Router (FTDR) that can be automaticallyreconfigured around faults while other independently operatingsubsystems in the dial router continue to process calls.

A dial router processes telephone calls from a Public Service TelephoneNetwork (PSTN). The dial router formats received telephone calls into IPpackets and routs the packets over a packet-based Local Area Network(LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN). The PSTN serially multiplexes multipletelephone calls together into either PRI, channelized T1 (CT1), orchannelized T3 (CT3) data streams or the European equivalent of CT1,which are referred to as CE1. The dial router accordingly includes PR1,CT1, CE1 and/or CT3 feature boards that separate out the individualcalls from the data streams. Modems extract digital data from theindividual telephone line channels. The router then encapsulates thedigital data into packets that are routed onto the packet-based network,such as a fast-Ethernet LAN.

Some dial router architectures break the dial router system into manyvery small subsystems cards. Each subsystem has a complete set of lineinterface units. When a failure occurs, the whole subsystem card isdecommissioned and manually swapped by an operator with a standbysubsystem card at a later time. Even if a line interface unit ispartially operational, it is fully decommissioned if a failure isdetected. Another problem is that the number of boards in the dialrouter are substantially increased since one redundant card is providedfor each subsystem card. This redundant architecture results in largeand bulky dial routers.

Current dial routers provide little or no fault tolerance againstfailures that occur in the field. Upon encountering a failure, fieldservice engineers typically swap out the entire dial router box. Forexample, when a single modem module in the dial router fails, the entiredial router box is turned off and the modem card replaced. When the dialrouter is shut down, all calls coming into the dial router aredisrupted. Because the dial router handles a large number of calls atthe same time, any failure, no matter how small, disrupts all theinformation (data, voice, etc.).

Accordingly, a need remains for a simple dial router architecture thatreduces the disruption of calls caused by failures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A fault tolerant dial router (FTDR) includes redundant subsystemresources that operate independently of telephone line interfaceconnections, such as PRI, CT1, CE1 and CT3 interfaces. The redundantsubsystem resources are switched active when a failure is detected in acurrently activated dial router subsystem. Subsystem failures areautomatically switched out under software control, providinguninterrupted service to users with limited performance loss.

The FTDR selectively detaches the PRI, CT1 or CT3 line interfaces fromthe “pool” of other subsystem resources inside the dial router box. Thesubsystem “pool” includes line framers, controllers and modem modules.The “pool” of resources typically include some redundancy so that oneextra subsystem can be standing by for a given number of activesubsystems.

Failures often occur in the line interface units, especially the CT3line interface that can handle up to 672 calls. The FTDR switches out afailed line interface unit and automatically switches in a redundantline interface unit.

The FTDR detaches the line interfaces from the “pool” of subsystemresources by using a DS1 cross-connect switch (DCCS). The PRI, CT1, CE1or CT3 line interface units converts modem, telephone, facsimiles orother types of calls to discrete DS1 data streams. The DCCS ispre-programmed to route individual DS1 data streams to subsystems andbackup subsystems in the same feature card or to subsystems in otherfeature cards in the FTDR. DS1 I/O lines connects together all the DCCSswitches in the FTDR.

When a failure is detected anywhere in the system, the DCCS isautomatically reconfigured to route the DS1 data stream around thefailed subsystem to another subsystem located elsewhere in the FTDR. Ifmore failures are detected, the DCCS connects the DS1 data stream aroundthe new fault to another available subsystem resource. The DCCS reducescall disruptions in the dial router due to failures and requiressubstantially less standby hardware than other dial routers. Theinvention is targeted, but not limited to, dial routers. For example,the FTDR is ideal for use by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) toincrease call reliability and reduce system down time.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will become more readily apparent from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention, which proceedswith reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art dial router.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a Fault Tolerant Dial Router (FTDR)according to the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a DS1 cross-connect switch (DCCS) accordingto the invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed diagram of a matrix element in the DCCS shown inFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a detailed circuit diagram of the DCCS shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing how the DCCS is reconfigured for a lineinterface failure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram showing how the DCCS is reconfigured for asubsystem failure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a prior art dial router 12. Multipletelephone calls 15 in a PSTN 14 are aggregated by a multiplexer 16 intoeither channelized T1 (CT1) data streams or Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN) PRI data streams. In Europe, the multiple telephone calls15 are aggregated into channelized E1 data streams (CE1). The T1channels are partitioned into 24 DS0 time slots that each carry aseparate telephone call. More calls are aggregated together bymultiplexer 18 to form a channelized T3 (CT3) data stream. The CT3channel is partitioned into 28 DS1 time slots that each carry 24 DS0channels. Channelized T1 has a bandwidth of 1.54 million bits perseconds (bps) and channelized T3 has a bandwidth of 45.736 million bps.

A T1 Line Interface Unit (LIU) 23 in the dial router 12 receivesmultiple calls on multiple T1 lines 17. A subsystem 22 includes a HDLCcontroller, framers and modems modules. The framer is coupled directlyto the T1 LIU 23 and converts the T1 channel into separate DS0 channels.The modems in subsystem 22 extract digital data from the DS0 channel.The packets are sent from the modems in subsystem 22 over a backplane 30to a router/controller 28 that then encapsulates the data into packetsand sends the packets out a packet based network, such as a LAN or WAN32. A T3 Line Interface Unit (LIU) 24 receives the DS1 data stream fromthe CT3 line 19. A framer in subsystem 26 separates the DS1 data streaminto separate DS0 channels. Modem modules in subsystem 26 extractdigital data from the DS0 channels. Router/controller 28 converts thedigital data into packets and sends the packets out to the LAN/WAN 32.

The LIU's 23 and 24 are connected directly to the subsystems 22 and 26,respectively. Any failure in the T1 LIU 23 or associated subsystem 22disconnects up to 30 ports (port=DS0 channel). The only way to restoreservice to the 30 ports is to physically replace the function card(board) containing LIU 23 and subsystem 22. If a failure occurs in theT3 LIU 24 or associated subsystem 26, even more calls are disconnected.

Referring to FIG. 2, a Failure Tolerant Dial Router (FTDR) 12 accordingto the invention includes DS1 cross-connect switches (DCCS's) 32A-C ineach feature card 46A-46C, respectively. A T3 Line Interface Unit (LIU)20A in feature card 46A receives a CT3 line 17 and outputs DS1 datastreams 21 to the DCCS 32A. Alternatively, the LIU 20A is configured toreceive ISDN PRI lines. The DCCS 32A is originally configured to connectthe DS1 data streams 21 to a DS1 framer 34A. The framer 34A converts theDS1 data stream into DS0 calls that are connected to modem modules 40Athrough a DS0 cross-connect switch 36A. The modem modules 40A extractdigital data from the DS0 calls and then sends the digital data to arouter/controller 28 over bus 44. DS1 I/O lines 33A are coupled fromDCCS 32A to DCCS 32B and 32C on the other feature card 46B and 46Cthrough the backplane 30. The different functional elements such as theframer 34A and modems 40A on the right side of the DCCS 32A are referredto generally as a conversion subsystem 35. A processor 42A monitors thefunctional elements in feature card 46A for failures.

A standby feature card 46B has the same functional elements as featurecard 46A. The standby feature card 46B is coupled to the CT3 line 17 inparallel with the feature card 46A. A CT1 or PRI feature card 46C iscoupled to multiple CT1 lines 19 by individual CT1 LIU modules 20C.Alternatively, the LIU modules 20C provide an interface for CE1 lines.The LIU modules 20C are coupled to a DCCS 32C. The subsystem to theright of DCCS 32C is similar to the subsystem 35 in feature card 46A. AT1 standby feature card 46F is similar to the CT1 feature card 46C andis coupled to the CT1 lines 19. The functional elements in the featurecards, other than the DCCS's 32A-C and the DS1 I/O lines 33A-C are knownto those skilled in the art and are, therefore, not described in furtherdetail.

Any combination of feature cards can be used in the FTDR 12. Theconfiguration shown in FIG. 2 is only one implementation shown forillustrative purposes. For example, there may be multiple CT3 featurecards 46A and multiple CT1 feature cards 46C. There may be one standbyfeature card 46B connected in parallel to each active CT3 feature card46A or only one standby feature card 46B used as backup for multiple CT3feature cards 46A.

Typically there is one-to-one redundancy for the CT3 feature cards 46A.This means that there is one standby CT3 card 46B for each normallyoperational CT3 card 46A. This is typically less redundancy, say 7-to-1redundancy, for the CT1 feature cards 46C. This means there is only onestandby CT1 feature card 46F for 7 normally operating CT1 feature cards46C.

Referring back to feature card 46A, if a failure occurs on the CT3 lines17, a relay in LIU 20B (not shown) is closed connecting CT3 line 17 toLIU 20B. DCCS 32B is automatically configured to connect LIU 20B overDS1 I/O lines 33A. At the same time, the DCCS 32A in the normally activefeature card 46A is reconfigured to switch out LIU 20A and switch in theDS1 I/O lines 33A.

The traffic on CT3 line 17 is in turn routed around LIU 20A to LIU 20B.

The DCCS 32B connects LIU 20B to DCCS 32A so that the traffic on CT3line 17 goes through LIU 20B, DCCS 32B and DCCS 32A to framer 34A.

If a DS1 failure occurs in the conversion subsystem 35 (framer 34A, DS0cross-connect switch 36A, or modem modules 40A), the DCCS 32A connectsthe DS1 channels either to the redundant module in the same feature card46A or connects through the DS1 I/O lines 33A to another feature card.For example, if a fault occurs in framer 34A, the DCCS 32A can reconnectthe LIU 20A to redundant framer 34D in the same feature card 46A. Ifboth framers 34A and 34D fail, the DCCS 32A can connect the LIU 20Athrough DS1 I/O lines 33 and backplane 30 to DCCS 32B or DCCS 32C. TheDCCS 32B or 32C connect LIU 20A to framer 34B or framer 34C in one ofthe other features cards 46B or 46C, respectively.

By adding the DCCS's 32A-32C and the auxiliary DS1 I/O lines 33 in theDS1 domain, reconnecting telephone channels to different feature cardsis faster and easier to control. If the DCCS's 32A-32C were inserted inthe DS0 domain (to the right of framers 34A-34C), the cross-connectcircuitry would be more difficult to control and require more complexcircuitry.

The DCCS's 32A-32C in combination with the DS1 I/O lines 33A-33C provideconnectivity at the DS1 level between all the feature cards 46A-46C. Amajor advantage provided by the DCCS's 32A-32C is that faults insubsystem 35 can be isolated from faults in the LIU's 20A-20C. Thisallows a substantially greater number of reconfiguration possibilitiesand, as a result, more effective utilization of redundant dial routerresources when a fault is detected.

Another advantage of the FTDR 12 is that more functional elements indifferent cards can be used to provide redundancy for faults in anyother card. For example, in an alternative configuration, feature card46B is not a standby card coupled to CT3 line 17 but an active featurecard connected to a separate CT3 line 37. If the subsystem 35 in featurecard 46A fails, calls on T3 line 19 can be reconnected by DCCS 32Athrough DS1 I/O line 33A to DCCS 32B. Redundant framer and modem modulesin the feature card 46B subsystem can then be used to convert the DS1data stream from line 17 into digital packets. Feature cards thatnormally operate independently can now provide additional redundancy forother feature cards.

There are two versions of the cross-connect switch. One version for theT3 feature card(s) 46A and 46B and the other version for the T1/PRI/E1feature cards 46C and 46F. Both are functionally equivalent but the DCCSon the T3 feature cards 46A and 46B support more DS1 channels.

The DCCS's 32A-32C are typically implemented using field programmablegate arrays (FPGA's). The DCCS's 32A-32C provide a 3-way switch matrixfunction. The DCCS 32C cross-connects the framer 34C or redundant framer34F to each one of six LIU's 20C on the same feature card 46C. In asecond configuration, the DCCS 32C cross-connects the two framers 34Cand 34F to the DS1 I/O lines 33C. In a third configuration, the DCCS 32cross-connects the six LIU's 20C to the DS1 I/O lines 33C.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the DCCS 32C. Each functional elementincluding LIU's 20C, DS1 I/O lines 33C and framers 34C and 34F thatconnect to the DCCS 32C has 2 pair of associated signals. R_Data andR_Clock are (Receive) signals input to the DCCS 32C and T_Data andT_Clock are output (Transmit) signals. The DCCS 32C connects thedifferent functional elements 20C, 33C, 34C, 34F and 34C togetheraccording to control registers 43 programmed by software via theprocessor 42.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified implementation for a portion of the DCCS 32Cused for switching the R_CLK signals received from the subsystemelements 20C, 33C and 34C. The processor 42 loads a value in one of thecontrol registers 43 that generates clock select signal SEL₁₃ CLK[1 . .. 0]. The asserted SEL_CLK[1 . . . 0] signal enables a multiplexer 46 tooutput one of the three receive clocks R_CLK1, R_CLK2, or R_CLK3 as theT_CLK1 clock. The receive clocks are generated by the LIU 20C, backplaneI/O 33C or framer 34C, respectively.

FIG. 5 is a detailed circuit diagram of the DCCS 32C. The circuit shownin FIG. 5 is replicated n times, where n is the number of inputs andoutputs supported in the feature cards 46A-46C. The following termsrefer to the different signals received from and transmitted by thedifferent elements in each feature card 46A-46C.

LIU_R data[5:0]: Line Interface Unit 20C receive data;

LIU_T Data[5:0]: Line Interface Unit 20C transmit data;

LIU_RCLK[n]: Line Interface Unit 20C receive clock;

LIU_TCLK[n]: Line Interface Unit 20C transmit clock;

FRMR_RData[n]: Framer 34C receive data;

FRMR_TData[n]: Framer 34C transmit data;

FRMR_RCLK[n]: Framer 34C receive clock;

FRMR_TCLK[n]: Framer 34C transmit clock;

BKPLN_DS1_RData[n]: Backplane DS1 I/O 33C receive data;

BKPLN_DS1_TData[n]: Backplane DS1 I/O 33C transmit data;

BKPLN_DS1_RCLK[n]: Backplane DS1 I/O 33C receive clock.

BKPLN_DS1_TCLK[n]: Backplane DS1 I/O 33C transmit clock.

The upper block in FIG. 5 shows DCCS 32C data control circuitry 52 andthe lower block in FIG. 5 shows DCCS 32C clock control circuitry 54.Power and reset signals BRD_PWROK, BRD_RESET_L and Global_decoded_OE areused for resetting and enabling the DCCS 32C. A multiplexer (mux) 58outputs either the BKPLN_DS1_R or LIU_R receive signal as the FRMR_RData[n] signal to the framer 34C. A mux 60 selects one of theLIU_RData[5:0] signals for outputting as the BKPLN_DS1_RData[n] signal.A mux 62 selects one of the FRMR-Data[n] signals for outputting as theBKPLN_TData[n] signal. The clock circuitry 54 works in a similar mannerfor the clock signals switched between the different functional elementsin the feature card 46C.

FIG. 6 shows how the DCCS 32A is reconfigured for a CT3 line failure inthe feature card 46A (FIG. 2). In step 70 the feature card 46A isactivated while the standby feature card 46B remains in a standby mode.The activate feature card 46A is continuously monitored by processor 42Afor any line failures in LIU 20A. If a failure is detected in LIU 20A,the processor 42A reports the fault to controller 28. The standby LIU20D can be activated, if available. If a standby LIU 20D is notavailable, controller 28 in step 74 deactivates the active feature card46A and activates the standby feature card 46B. The DCCS 32A is thenreconfigured in step 76 to receive the DS1 channels from the now activefeature card 46B over the DS1 I/O lines 33A. The subsystem 35 in featurecard 46A then converts the DS1 data stream into digital packets.Alternatively, the DCCS 32B and subsystem in card 46B is used forconverting the CT3 calls into packets.

FIG. 7 shows how the DCCS 32A is configured for a failure that occurs inthe subsystem 35 to the right of DCCS 32A. For example, a failure thatoccurs in the framer 34A or in one or more of the modem modules 40A. TheDCCS 32A is configured in step 78 to connect the LIU 20A to framer 34A.The DS0 switch 36A is configured to connect the DS0 calls from framer34A to the modem modules 40A. If a failure is detected in decision step80, the router/controller 28 is notified by the local processor 42 instep 82.

If the failure is a DS0 modem failure, the DS0 switch 36A can bereconfigured in step 90 to connect the DS0 calls to spare modem modules40A in step 90. If a DS1 modem failure is identified in decision step86, then the entire bank of modem modules 40A have failed. The DS0switch 36A is then reconfigured to by-pass all the local modem modules40A in step 92. Alternatively, step 92 reconfigures the DCCS 32A tobypass framer 34A and modem modules 40A altogether and connects the LIU20A through the DS1 I/O lines 33 to another feature card. If a failureis detected in framer 34A, step 88 reconfigures the DCCS 32A to bypassthe framer 32A and connects the LIU 20A either to the spare framer 34Don the same feature card 46A or to a framer on another feature card viaDS1 I/O lines 33A.

As mentioned above, the DCCS provides a wide variety of different dialrouter configurations that isolate faults without having to shut downthe entire dial router 12. Because more dial configurations arepossible, more redundancy is provided while using less hardware. Thus,the dial router is more fault tolerant.

Having described and illustrated the principles of the invention in apreferred embodiment thereof, it should be apparent that the inventioncan be modified in arrangement and detail without departing from suchprinciples. I claim all modifications and variation coming within thespirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:
 1. A fault tolerant dial router, comprising: a primary lineinterface unit coupled to telephone lines from a telephone network; aprimary conversion subsystem converting calls on the telephone linesinto packets; a router routing the packets on a packet based network;and a primary cross-connect switch coupled between the primary lineinterface unit and the primary conversion subsystem that reconnects theprimary line interface unit to a secondary conversion subsystem when afailure is detected in the primary subsystem, the primary cross-connectswitch also configurable to switch around a failed primary lineinterface unit while maintaining operation of the primary conversionsubsystem connected to the failed primary line interface unit bydisconnecting the primary line interface unit from the primaryconversion subsystem and connecting a secondary line interface unit tothe primary conversion subsystem.
 2. A dial router according to claim 1including a secondary cross-connect switch in a secondary feature card,the secondary cross-connect switch coupled between a secondary lineinterface unit and a secondary conversion subsystem, the primarycross-connect switch configurable to connect either one of the primaryline interface unit and the primary conversion subsystem to thesecondary cross-connect switch and the secondary cross-connect switchconfigurable to connect either one of the secondary line interface unitand secondary conversion subsystem to the primary cross-connect switch.3. A dial router according to claim 2 wherein the secondary lineinterface unit is coupled in parallel with the primary line interfaceunit to the telephone lines, the primary line interface unitautomatically deactivated and the secondary line interface unitautomatically activated when a failure is detected on the primary lineinterface unit and the primary and secondary cross-connect switchautomatically reconfiguring to connect the secondary line interface tothe primary conversion subsystem.
 4. A dial router according to claim 1wherein the primary conversion subsystem includes a framer for framingmultiple groups of telephone calls into individual telephone calls andmodem modules for converting the individual telephone calls intopackets.
 5. A dial router according to claim 4 including a DS0cross-connect switch redirecting individual DS0 calls from individualfailed modem modules to individual standby modems and the primarycross-switch comprising a switch redirecting groups of DS1 calls fromfailed framers or failed banks of modems to secondary framers orsecondary banks of modems.
 6. A dial router according to claim 1including multiple feature cards each having a cross-connect switchconnected between a line interface unit and a conversion subsystem, thecross-connect switches in the feature cards all connected together forconnecting the line interface unit in any feature card to the conversionsubsystem in any other feature cards.
 7. A dial router according toclaim 6 wherein at least one of the feature cards receives and convertsbetween channelized T1 telephone calls and network IP packets and atleast one of the feature cards converts between channelized T3 telephonecalls and network IP packets.
 8. A dial router according to claim 6including a processor on each feature card that monitors for failuresand a central controller that reconfigures the cross-connect switches oneach feature card according to the monitored failures.
 9. A dial routeraccording to claim 1 wherein the primary line interface unit includesmultiple line interface modules each connected to a separate T1telephone line.
 10. A cross-connect switch for reconfiguring differentfunctional elements in a dial router, comprising: a first interfacecoupled to a telephone line interface unit that receives telephone linesignals; a second interface coupled to a framer that frames thetelephone line signals into individual telephone calls; a thirdinterface coupled to another framer in the dial router and to anothertelephone line interface unit; the first interface disconnecting thetelephone line interface unit from the framer unit and the thirdinterface then automatically connecting the other telephone lineinterface unit to the framer when the telephone line interface unitfails.
 11. A cross-connect switch according to claim 10 including: afirst multiplexer selectively coupling inputs from either one of thesecond and third interface to the first interface; a second multiplexerselectively coupling inputs from either one of the first or thirdinterface to the second interface, and a third multiplexer selectivelycoupling inputs from either one of the first and second interface to thethird interface.
 12. A cross-connect switch according to claim 11including a configuration register that configures which interface isoutput from each multiplexer.
 13. A method for increasing faulttolerance in a telephone line concentrator, comprising: activating lineinterface units for receiving telephone call data streams from atelephone network; activating subsystems for separating the data streamson the telephone lines into separate telephone channels and extractingdigital data from the channels; converting the digital data into packetsand routing the digital packets on a packet based network; monitoringthe line interface units and subsystems for failures; and automaticallyreconfiguring the concentrator to reconnect telephone signals around anyone of the monitored line interface units and subsystems having adetected failure while keeping any remaining operating line interfaceunits and operating subsystems available for continued processing of thetelephone call data stream by disconnecting a failed one of the lineinterface units from an operating one of the subsystems and reconnectingthe operating one of the subsystems to a different one of the operatingline interface units.
 14. A method according to claim 12 includingreconfiguring the concentrator to reconfigure the telephone data streamaround individual failed modem modules in the subsystem while remainingmodem modules convert the telephone calls into digital packets.
 15. Amethod according to claim 14 including reconfiguring the concentrator toreconnect the telephone data stream around an entire bank of modem unitsor around a framer in the subsystem identified as causing call failureswhile the line interface unit continues to receive calls from thetelephone network.
 16. A computer-readable medium containing softwarefor handling fault tolerance in a telephone line concentrator,comprising: code for activating line interface units for receivingtelephone call data streams from a telephone network; code foractivating subsystems for separating the data streams on the telephonelines into separate telephone channels and extracting digital data fromthe channels; code for converting the digital data into packets androuting the digital packets on a packet based network; code formonitoring the line interface units and subsystems for failures; andcode for automatically reconfiguring the concentrator to reconnecttelephone signals around any one of the monitored line interface unitsand subsystems having a detected failure while keeping any remainingoperating interface units and subsystems available for continuedprocessing of the telephone call data stream by disconnecting a failedone of the line interface units from an operating one of the subsystemsand reconnecting the operating one of the subsystems to a different oneof the operating line interface units.
 17. A computer-readable mediumaccording to claim 16 including code for reconfiguring the concentratorto reconfigure the telephone data stream around individual failed modemmodules in the subsystem while remaining modem modules convert thetelephone calls into digital packets.
 18. A computer-readable mediumaccording to claim 17 including code for reconfiguring the concentratorto reconnect the telephone data stream around an entire bank of modemunits or around a framer in the subsystem identified as causing callfailures while the line interface unit continues to receive calls fromthe telephone network.